Thinking about linking.....

So I've been asked to give some examples of how linking is useful for on-line journalism and the most obvious example I can think of right now is the story that I am preparing for the Jerusalem Post magazine's Christmas edition...

Ramallah Fashion
Here goes, I am writing a feature about a Palestinian fashion designer based in Bethlehem. She had a very successful fashion show in Ramallah two months ago and her designs are stunning.

Seeing her work got me thinking that Israelis and most people around the world do not realize that there are some wonderful and positive things happening in the Palestinian Authority. I hope to highlight this in my story. If I was writing this story for on-line media -- and it will likely appear on www.jpost.com -- then I would certainly add the following link to the YouTube clip of her fashion show....

See the Ramallah Fashion Show on YouTube

Because this is a story (and you will all have to wait to read the full version) about such a colorful subject as fashion, especially against the backdrop of suffering and hardship, showing the glamor and glitz and proving that it really took place is of utmost importance.

War heroes
Another example of how effective linking can be is a story that I wrote this week for the Jerusalem Post about Polish national hero Jacek Karski. The story, TAU honors Polish War Hero includes background and some historical references. Some of those were questioned by my readers -- the Holocaust and the Second World War are very sensitive topics -- they question my choice of phrasing when I referred to Poland's role during the war... therefore it would have been wise to include links to historical websites to back up what I wrote.

Like it? Link it…

It is often said that one of the main sources of information for journalists is other news reports. Inspired by what they read in print or see elsewhere in the media, journalists often find ways to move existing stories forward or take those stories in new directions.

One of the oldest problems with print journalism, however, is figuring out how to add depth to those stories and avoid the inexcusable crime of ‘lifting’ material directly from other writers. Luckily, on-line media just made tackling those two problems a whole lot easier.

WEB OF CONNECTIONS

According to New York University’s Jay Rosen, on-line ‘linking’ from one story to another has created a “web of connections” and embodied the entire ethic of the internet by connecting people and steering them towards additional knowledge.

For journalists, using this tool affords them the space to add background information to their work and can provide back up data to support their arguments. The chance to move a story forward and take that story to other places in cyberspace cleverly brings the written word to life in a multi-dimensional way.

In addition, links can show the origins of a story and offer an alternative view or angle to that story.

Rosen calls these links ‘depth’ and I believe that by seeing it this way, he really highlights the value and power of linking to other sources on the web.


PLAGIARISM NO MORE!

The greatest sin of any writer, whether it’s on purpose or by accident, is plagiarism. However, on-line linking may be the cure for such a crime, says Tammi Marcoullier in her Publish2 blog post ‘Is Linking an Antidote to Plagiarism in Journalism?’

Describing a clear case where her own words were lifted by another journalist, Marcoullier states that with today’s on-line technology “plagiarism is more inexcusable on the web because writers can credit sources with a link.”

Marcoullier sums up that “On the web, there is value in creating an alternative to copying someone else’s work. When editors value link journalism and communicate to their reporters and writers that including links to their sources and giving credit where credit is due is as important as meeting a deadline, they will provide less incentive for plagiarism.”

Press Freedom

Measuring truth
Facts and truth is there such a thing? In today’s mass of internet media even what we perceive to be fact or real news must be crossed referenced more than once or twice to be sure it has not been filtered through an individual’s cultural, religious or other paradigm.

With the internet presenting such a wide range of news websites, however, almost no one these days even pretends to be fair or balanced and therefore it is up to readers and those who rely on such news to make sure they are aware of the slant…




Take, for instance, the website belonging to Arabic-language television news station Al Arabiya. Presented in Arabic and English, this portal -- launched in 2003 and based in United Arab Emirates -- offers the main news headlines from across the world.

Al Arabiya relies heavily on stories published by reliable news agencies, mainly AFP and Reuters, but it also carries some opinion pieces, mainly from the Arab-speaking world.

According to a New York Times interview with the channel’s director Abdul Rahman al-Rashed last year, its goal was to provide the Arab world with a moderate voice but in reality it appears to be just regurgitating the news from western news sites and provides very little new or original material.

Al Arabiya’s non-confrontational approach to the many clearly sensitive issues facing the Middle East has caused it to be blasted by some in the Arab-speaking world for being pro-American. It has even been mockingly calling Al Hebraia (The Hebrew) for its lenient approach towards Israel in the context of the conflict with the Palestinians, says an NYT article.

Partly owned by the Saudi broadcaster Middle East Broadcasting Center (MBC) and with additional support from the Arab league, this news source has also drawn criticism from some who note that it is also not financially free to really provide any serious analysis or criticism of the Arab world.





Equally slanted and constrained is www.aawsat.com, the website belonging to the Arabic daily Asharq Al-Awsat.

Its news sources are of course credible, with most of its posts also drawn from internationally recognized news agencies. While the ethics of these news agencies are fairly standard, with the Saudi royal family behind Asharq Al-Awsat, one must of course question the story choices presented on its home page and the emphasis or importance placed on each one.

In addition, its opinion pieces – once again almost all coming from the Arab world – receive prominence on the home page and a brief investigation of these commentaries indicates that Asharq Al-Awsat’s commentary sources must be viewed with extreme care.

Take, for example, the opinions of one Dr. Bouthaina Shaaban, who dedicates her column this week to explaining the truths and realities of the Arab world. She comments without restraint on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict but never indicates her sources or whether she has even ever visited the region and met with the people (and not the politicians) involved.

As a political representative in her country, it is questionable whether Dr. Shaaban has ever even met with a regular Israeli or taken the time to really understand the personal issues from the other side of the conflict.


GAWKER

As the debate around the validity of information posted on news blogs such as www.gawker.com continues, it is pertinent to point out after reviewing ‘real news websites’ such as Asharq Al-Awsat and Al Arabiya, that the multitude of voices on gawker-type portals is totally refreshing.

Of course most of what is posted on gawker.com is based on gossip and rumors about the rich and famous or is simply ripped from other dubious celebrity news sites, but the posts are short and straight-to-the point. They provide a great starting point for any journalist but obviously they must be backed up with as much proof as possible.

I would never cite this website as a source but, if I was a Hollywood reporter, I would definitely use it as starting point for a story.

The contributors and the commentaries come from a wide range of people and that too makes it fun and interesting to read.


American Idol winner Adam Lambert featured on Gawker.com

Practice of polygamy continues to grow in Israel

One quarter Bedouin families have multiple mothers


Polygamy is not a diminishing phenomenon worldwide and, despite being illegal in Israel, is practiced here by hundreds of families, specifically in the Bedouin sector, according to a wide range of experts who presented their research at a first-of-its-kind conference on the controversial subject held Wednesday at Ben Gurion University of the Negev.

In the conference’s opening speech, Talal Al-Krenawi, mayor of the country’s largest Bedouin town, Rahat, said that the Bedouin sector was faced with numerous challenges in the face of modernity, particularly in the area of family planning and stemming the practice of polygamy, which involves a man taking multiple wives and fathering numerous children from them.

“There is cultural pressure in our community to have lots of children but we must strive to raise awareness to improve family planning,” stated Al-Krenawi. “Large families conceived without planning ends up leading to poverty and other socio-economic problems.”

He pointed out that while Islam permits a man to have up to four wives, it is only under the condition that he can treat them all equally in both a financial and an emotional sense.

“Who is able to treat three wives equally?” joked Al-Krenawi. “[Polygamy] is allowed but even the Prophet Mohammad did not recommend it.”

According to data presented at the conference, roughly 20-25 percent of Israel’s Bedouin families practice polygamy, with the majority of the women and children in such families suffering from deep psychological, economic and social difficulties.
Conference chairman, social work professor Alean Al-Krenawi -- brother of Mayor Al-Krenawi – presented the findings of a three-year study comparing polygamous and monogamous Bedouin families in Israel.

In the process of his research, Al-Krenawi took a sample of some 973 subjects, with half derived from polygamous families and the other half from monogamous. He questioned fathers, wives and children about their psychological, family, and social functioning, as well as their marital quality, father-child relationships, mother-child relationships and even checked the children’s levels of scholastic success.

He found that children from polygamous families reported more distress, depression, anxiety and problems in establishing social relationships than those from monogamous households. Children from polygamous families also have much lower self-esteem and tend to quarrel with their fathers more, the research found.

“There is always going to be tension between the women, which ends up creating different camps in the family,” explained Al-Krenawi. “The father tends to prefer the junior wife and abandons the senior wife and her children.”

Al-Krenawi’s research also found, surprisingly, that men in polygamous families were not generally happy with their situation, mostly due to the constant arguing between wives and children. Many of the men said that, in retrospect, they would not have chosen to marry multiple wives.

Sheik Hammad Abu-Daabis, Head of the Southern Islamic Movement, spoke out for polygamy, explaining that it was his religion’s way of providing a solution to the limitation of Islam’s marriage laws.

“Polygamy solves problems,” stated Abu-Daabis. “Anxiety and depression are only side effects of the practice but we must also look at the benefits.”
He went on to list several key reasons for a man taking additional wives such as if the first woman falls sick or is infertile, as a way of a man being honest about any sexual betrayals or as an opportunity for the second wife to find love and marriage too.

While the first wife does not have a choice on whether her husband should have a second wife, the new woman is making a conscious decision to marry an already married man, he said, adding that being a single woman of advanced years in Muslim culture is particularly problematic.

Additional speakers at the conference included Minister of Welfare and Social Services Isaac Herzog, who said that Israeli law had to find provisions for polygamous families so that the children of such families do not end up becoming neglected or at risk and to enable additional wives, who are not recognized by the law, to receive state benefits; and American-Lebanese Professor Sherifa Zuhur from the US Army War College.

Zuhur spoke out against polygamy in any culture, country or society, condemning the practice as an obstacle to the basic human rights of women.
“Social scientists wrongly assume that polygamy is fading away or that only wealthy men engage in the practice,” Zuhur told the conference. “These are all myths and are untrue. Today, there are new forms of polygamy that all benefit the men and all hurt women.”

Most of those attending the conference came from the Bedouin sector or from other communities, such as the Hebrew Israelites in Dimona, who practice or have practiced polygamy in the past.

How do you say ‘Refugee’ in Hebrew?

While Israel is still in the process of developing its policy on the recent influx of African refugees, some are giving them the tools to start building a life here.

Its early evening in Jerusalem’s city center and several well-dressed young men and one woman take the elevator up to the fifth floor of the municipal-owned Adult Education Center located just behind the Gerard Behar Theater.

With cheery chatter, they eagerly enter the light-filled classroom and take up their seats in an orderly fashion. Maya, the ulpan or Hebrew teacher, greets them with a smile and once everyone is sitting comfortably, she begins her Hebrew lesson.
“Let’s start with the word ‘K-e-s-e-f,’” she says in a clear voice, pointing to the letters pinned up on the white board behind her. “It begins with a ‘kuf’ and ends with a ‘feh.’”

As the three young female volunteers move around the classroom helping the students to find the letters and print them in their notebooks, Maya adds jokingly: “It means money, does anybody here have any?”

Laughter breaks out amongst the students and then a chorus of “no’s” ensues. Maya smiles knowingly as she turns to explain to students in the front row how to read and write the essential Hebrew word.

While the Hebrew lesson at the Adult Education Center could most certainly be part of any standard language course for new immigrants or even one of the city-sponsored Hebrew classes for Arab citizens, this ulpan is, infact, aimed at the capital’s growing number of unofficial residents: asylum seekers or refugees from Africa.

Mainly from Sudan and Eritrea, volunteers working with the community estimate that Jerusalem is now home to roughly 300 people – mostly individuals but some families – who claim they are unable to return to their country of origin for political reasons. Most of them live in cheap rented apartments in the capital’s poorest neighborhoods, finding menial jobs in local hotels, yeshivas and independent households to support themselves.

Maya’s class, which meets at the Adult Education Center twice a week, makes up the lowest grade of three Hebrew classes, an English-language course and a basic introduction to computer technology, all run voluntarily by two Jerusalem women -- Tali Ehrenthal and Sara Stern.

“The aim is for them to learn how to manage their lives day-to-day,” begins Ehrenthal, a 27-year-old trained social worker who works for the Jerusalem Municipality by day and by night dedicates her time to improving the situation for these displaced people. “Their lives are not easy, especially with the economic situation deteriorating and many of them losing their jobs.”

She continues: “Israel’s policy on refugees is that there is no policy. It’s a real catch 22 but the bottom line is that they are here and they have to support themselves somehow.”

Indeed, since 1951 Israel has only recognized a total of 170 refugees in accordance with the UN Refugees Convention, despite the fact that more than 17,000 people from Africa who claim they cannot return to their countries of origin have been living here since April 2007.

“The law says that anyone who comes here and asks for shelter must have their status checked,” points out Ehrenthal. “But so far the government has not done that, leaving many people with an ambiguous status.”

“Now they want to become part of society and better understand the world around them,” adds Stern, 33, who recently completed her studies in special education.

Both women say that the impetus to creating what is the capital’s first ulpan for African refugees came from within the community itself, which even though has no idea how long it will be allowed to remain in Israel, wants to put as much effort as possible into their new lives in the holy city.

“These people work very, very hard every day in very physical jobs, some are mothers, some work double shifts but they all come here in the evenings full of enthusiasm and totally motivated,” describes Stern, adding that “many of them did not know how to speak a word of Hebrew before but they leave here after two months knowing enough to get by.”

STERN and Ehrenthal’s work with refugees started roughly three years ago when the influx of Eritreans and Sudanese nationals infiltrating Israel’s border with Egypt was at its peak.

Ehrenthal says she was inspired by personal stories related during a special event to mark the International Day for Refugees and Stern cites a newspaper article about the crisis as her impetus. Both women went on to contact local non-profits and individuals working with the refugees and offered to help out.

“I know that I a very lucky person, I have no idea what it is like to live in constant fear,” says Stern philosophically. “I have a family and warm place to go in the evenings. I am in a strong place and am in a position to really help these people.”

For Ehrenthal, the urge to do what she can to improve their lives comes from a more personal angle. As the descendent of Holocaust survivors, she says: “This country was founded not so long ago by refugees, who arrived here coming from a similar place. It’s obvious to me that we should do whatever we can to help them.”

Initially, the situation faced by the asylum seekers was hazardous and uncertain, explains Ehrenthal.

“There was mass of refugees arriving across the border and the government did not know what to do with them,” she says, estimating that there is roughly 17,000 refugees living in Israel today.

The army did not know how to deal with them either and many ended up being brought to nearby Beersheva, where they were simply left in one of the town’s main squares. In the summer of 2007, the Beersheva municipality together with human rights groups brought the refugees to Jerusalem for a protest and after that some of them just decided to stay here, says Ehrenthal.

“The government’s policy goes in waves, at first they were arrested, then released, then arrested again,” she continues, adding that her first real contact with the community was on Kibbutz Ma’aleh Hamisha, just outside the capital, where they were placed under house arrest.

“They were not allowed to leave the kibbutz and we went there to see how we could help and bring them what they needed,” remembers Ehrenthal.

As Israel started to ease its treatment of the Africans, the community’s needs changed too from basic necessities such as food and clothing to finding the practical tools needed to build a new life.

Just under two years ago, the two active volunteers received a request from the refugees to set up an adult education center that would give them the tools to help improve their quest for work and fit in better in their new country.

“At first I thought that English would be the most suitable language for them to learn because none of us know how long they will be able to stay in Israel and where they will go after here,” says Stern. “But they all wanted to learn Hebrew and asked us to find them a serious ulpan teacher. They were willing to pay for it too… they know that you get what you pay for.”

The two women first turned to the capital’s existing network of ulpanim -- some private and others funded by the Immigrant Absorption Ministry -- but were met with a variety of excuses such as lack of space, too high prices, or told the frameworks were for Jewish immigrants only.

“Then we asked the Jerusalem Municipality, who offered us this space for a very low fee,” says Ehrenthal, gesturing to the large classroom around her.

Currently, the program caters to some 60 Eritrean and Sudanese refugees, with the twice weekly classes costing roughly NIS290 for a two month course. In nearby Kiryat Menachem, the charity Machshavatova has been outsourced to run a basic computer course and once a week there is also an English class.

FOR former Darfurian Daniel (not his real name), the continuing education courses run by Ehrenthal and Stern are a life-line to helping him stay in Israel as the trouble in his own country continues unabated.

“If we want to stay here, then learning Hebrew is very important,” he says in a mixture of broken Hebrew and English. “There are a lot of problems in my country, I do hope to go back there one day because all my family is there but who knows when it will get better there?”

The 30-year-old, who claims that if he returns to Darfur he will be killed, has been in Jerusalem for just over a year, he came here after hearing that there was work and is currently employed in the housekeeping department of one of the big hotels.
“I was in Egypt for a year but had to leave because it was not safe for me there,” he says. “I heard there that Israel was a good place to go, that they would be able to help me… so that is why I came here.”

Daniel refuses to go into any more details about what he has been through or what caused him to run away from Darfur and, like many of the others taking this Hebrew course, it is difficult to read from the outside if they are really refugees or simply migrant workers looking for a better life in Israel. This dilemma is one of the reasons for Israel’s reluctance to completely provide them with the help they might need.

“We know that some people are suspicious of their intentions,” observes Stern. “Even among some of my closest friends there are those who ask me why I am bothering to help these people when there are so many people in Israel that need help… I just tell them that this is the situation, these people are here already and they need help.”

“Of course we have no idea who came here because they were scared and running away or who came here because they were just looking for a better life,” she continues, adding “I don’t believe that it is up to us to decide what is right and what is wrong in this situation.”

“It is not our role to do decide who is a refugee, that is the role of the authorities,” joins in Ehrenthal. “The government should be checking everyone’s status to see if they are refugees or migrant workers.”

“It’s like a person in the street begging you for money,” finishes Stern. “Its impossible to know if the person that person really needs the money or if, when you do give it to them, they will spend the money you give them wisely, you just know that you have the means to help them and so you do.”